Glorious mayhem always ensues when Stone Brewing and BrewDog team up to brew a beer. Mix a lifelong metalhead known for having an occasionally aggressive attitude toward the panel with self-professed punks notorious for brewing hardcore beers and pushing the boundaries at full-throttle pace…and this hopped-up headbanger was a no-brainer. Part imperial stout, part Belgian abbey ale and all IPA, this style-smashing hybrid is a supercharged version of the BrewDog / Stone bashah original from 2009. BASHAH: Black As Sin. Hoppy As Hell. This Berlin mash-up will no doubt suffice in satiating those who crave intensity and a pummeling of flavor. Any ringing in your ears from the cacophony should subside within a few days. Probably.

Our dream to be the first American craft brewery to independently build, own and operate a brewery in Europe has become a reality. Located in a historic 1901 building, our state of the art brewhouse and destination restaurant in the Mariendorf neighborhood is a true thing of beauty! As promised, we invited some of our best friends in craft brewing to create an exceptional series of celebratory beers. We hope you enjoy the international camaraderie that went inot making these fourteen truly groundbreaking collaborations!

MIT STOLZ GEBRAUT IN BERLIN

==Introduction==In 2014, Stone was raising money to open a brewery in Berlin, Germany. It would be the first time an American craft brewery would open up a business in Europe. For Germany who has Bavarian laws on the beer making process, craft beer would no coincide with their laws. However, Stone being some crazy arrogant bastards were able to make their way into the market and were successful to open up shop. At the time, I had donated money on promised collaborations with different breweries. Mainly some of the ones I like such as Brew Dog, Lost Abbey, The Bruery, Surly and even Devil’s Gate/Will Wheaton. So, with the donations I made in that year, I was wondering if I would ever see a return on my investment. Long behold, Stone contacted me to inform that they were going to release the beers and so today I bring Super Bashah. Super Bashah was based on BASHAH which Stone did a collaboration with Brew Dog years ago and it was a memorable beer. That is why when I heard they were doing a collaboration again for the tribute of the new brewery I wanted to bring this one to the site, new and improved, super BASHAH. So thankfully, here it is. Now, these beers will be available at Stone Stores but I do not know if they will see distribution. That is why I suggest possibly visiting Stone or trade for one, as they will be sold to the public. Let’s have a look at Super BASHAH!

The previous incarnation of this beer was collaboration with Shamrock brewing. Oskar Blues has always released some really fine beers like the Dale’s Pale Ale, Ten Fidy, Mama Yella Pils and Old Chub. With the release of a coconut beer, people went ballistic. Luckily for the masses, Oskar Blues was able to provide enough for the crazy demand. So you too can enjoy this one as it is most likely sold where they sell Oskar Blues beers. Cheers!

Overall:Quite possibly, the best Coconut porter ever! So much chocolate coconut and coffee goodness that is very apparent all around from the rich aromas to the flavors. They really outshined themselves. It is no wonder why a lot of their beers seem to hit my exceptional meter often. They really do brew with magic. I highly recommend this one and it is a must try!

Anime Corner:Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach was used in this pairing as the show relates to death but also how Rukia is like an equivalent to the Soul Reaper White Princess. Colors of the coconut represent her and the dark chocolate is the darkness of death. So swift and luscious! Ichigo Kurosaki is in there too just cuz he’s a bad ass. Essentially, these are some of their ultimate forms and what a better way to pair with the ultimate coconut porter!

Summer is officially over as the reaper walks out of the hallways of the NubisSanctum cellar and sets its course to take the lives… I mean, leaves from the trees and plants to ready the environment for the winter. This time, the reaper brought a friend… As I do this double review, I would like to point out that these beers have been waiting an entire year in my cellar waiting for the next fall and now I have brought them forth together to unleash double review for the fall. I have previously had the good gourd before and it was an awesome beer. When I heard of the release of the Good Gourd Almighty, I had to grab it before it was gone. This beer was released for what Cigar City calls its “El Catador” club back in late 2013. So those that joined had the Almighty to obtain. Unfortunately for me, I had to go out of my way to trade for this one. Even some of the online sites do not have it and it would be hard to get it. So if you can find the almighty version, awesome! Fortunately for many, Cigar City released the regular Good Gourd for the masses. So if you can get this in your state, Florida mainly or have it shipped to you via the online stores, I vouch for this beer for sure. Let us now see how the reaper tolls… Cheers!

Good Gourd by Cigar City brewing is an 8.5% ABV World Class Imperial Pumpkin Ale brewed with spices. This one has been sitting in the dark for a year.

Label:Legend has it that when a pumpkin comes into the world it is possessed by either a good or an evil spirit. Ours got all the good baby! Bursting with real pumpkin flavor and yummy pumpkin spices including Ceylon cinnamon, Jamaican all-spice, Zanzibar cloves and nutmeg, Good Gourd is a celebration of Fall and that spookiest of holidays, Halloween. Pair Good Gourd with pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie and costume parties.

This high Gravity gob of Gourd-y goodness incorporates pumpkin in the mashing process and then gets wicked with the spices including Ceylon Cinnamon, Jamaican All Spice, Zanzibar Cloves and nutmeg.___

Overall:Damn! Age does make quite the difference. This one went several notches over perfect. I have not had a pumpkin beer like this in, well, ever. It seems that 1 year aging took it to a whole new level I did not expect. It really is not the same beer anymore, it became a Pumpkin God. If that is the case, The Good Gourd Almighty will probably be in some new dimension of pumpkin reality, some kind of (nth) dimension of pumpkin. We will will only know until we see it. So if you stuck around to read this, I would highly recommend this one without a doubt and make sure to get 2. One for now and one for a year or later.

Good Gourd Almighty 1 year aged Review

Good Gourd Almighty by Cigar City is a ??% ABV World Class Imperial Pumpkin Ale brewed with spices and aged in Rum Barrels. This one, just like Good Gourd has been sitting in the dark for a year.

Label:(SAME AS THE REGULAR)Legend has it that when a pumpkin comes into the world it is possessed by either a good or an evil spirit. Ours got all the good baby! Bursting with real pumpkin flavor and yummy pumpkin spices including Ceylon cinnamon, Jamaican all-spice, Zanzibar cloves and nutmeg, Good Gourd is a celebration of Fall and that spookiest of holidays, Halloween. Pair Good Gourd with pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie and costume parties.

This high Gravity gob of Gourd-y goodness incorporates pumpkin in the mashing process and then gets wicked with the spices including Ceylon Cinnamon, Jamaican All Spice, Zanzibar Cloves and nutmeg.___

Overall:Frankly, the best Pumpkin Beer, EVER!! This beer took what was awesome about the original and made it way better. Even after a year later, in comparison it shows how it moved along which is different from the original Good Gourd. This reminds me of Rumpkin from Avery but take to a new pumpkin extreme. The complexity and beer consistency is crazy up to the level of some of the greats like Chocolate Rain, Black Tuesday, Wineification and White Chocolate, some of the greats on the West Coast that are my favs This pumpkin beer is pretty ridiculous and I understand why it was so damn exclusive. I highly recommend it if you can trade or find this one online.

Anime Corner:Rukia Kuchiki (Dark version) and Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach were used in the overall pairings you see hear. They are both Soul Reapers from Soul Society. I wanted to pair Evil Rukia in these pairing since I had used Rukia for the original review. The addition of overall heightened power and Ichigo were for Good Gourd Almighty which basically all the colors they represent are of the death of plants, coming of the fall, the pumpkin like Ichigo’s hair, the dark fruits and the purple yams of Rukia’s hair and over all strength and complexity from both the characters but mainly from Rukia. Evil Rukia is a bad ass, plain and simple even if her Bankai form is supreme, but that is a “Grey Monday” story all together.

Life is Like… collaboration by Cigar City and Mikkeller is a 15% ABV Imperial Milk / Sweet Stout brewed with cherries & cacao nibs & aged in bourbon barrels

Label: An imperial sweet stout brewed with cherries and cacao nibs, which is then aged in bourbon barrels. This beer is brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller our generous friend from Copenhagen, Denmark. What you have here is a modest attempt to emulate the experience of biting into a chocolate-covered cherry candy. We hope you enjoy it but you never know what you’re gonna get.___

Released exclusively at the Cigar City Brewing tap room, this one had become a quickly coveted beer. I was only able to grab a bottle by pure luck as now a days you either have to get them through trading or online sites that cater to rare beers. If you somehow stumble upon this treasure, the choice to drink now or save for later will be completely up to you. I have taken the brevity to do a review now but check several years later and see if the brew has completely changed into something, possibly extraordinary.

The aftertaste leaves like a combination of chocolate, cherry and vanilla syrup with some very nice bourbon notes. The alcohol is mildly present and really almost hidden. A very syrupy sipper. Almost like drinking liquid gourmet Cordial Chocolate cherries. As the beer warms up, more cherries start to come out. Give it some time and enjoy

Overall, just plug it into my veins!! Freaking awesomely delicious Chocolate Rain, basically with real cherries. Cigar City is The Bruery of the east coast for me. Now you add the awesome gypsy Mikkeller into the mash and you have a beer that is so rich and sweet, it really does make me wonder if the meaning of Life is like… enjoying it and making the best of it. A symbolic representation of life is most likely represented in this bottle or anything you love. Either that or this is Diabetes in a bottle (Willford Brimly voice). And in several years, if you are alive to enjoy it, take it and share it with the lucky ones. You most important ones because they are what make life worth living. This is true to what they say it is. To me, this is actually better than the than the Cherry Rye Bourbon County in the chocolate and cherry department.

Bashah!!…Does not compute…It is a collaboration between Brewdog and Stone Brewing company. It is a 8.6% ABV Black Strong Belgian Dark fused with a Double India Pale. It is my response to the what ifs in terms of beer fusions. Mixing my favorite style a Belgian Dark Strong Ale with a Double IPA. My answer for an Imperial Stout and Belgian Dark Strong ale came with Sam Adams 13th hour Belgian stout long ago.

Bashah is the other end of the spectrum. What if you took the arrogant and hoppy bastard or the Ruination of stone and you added some dark Belgian bready yeast not to mentions BrewDogs influence with malts that add that chocolatey and coffee like flavors. Smooth and hoppy bitterness. Hard to find this beer is, hard to find meaning as stated in the label. There is no real meaning to any of this…Beer is here….Bashah…Bashah Bashah….literally it works…there is no reason for such combinations to work…sweet bitterness I should say….but they do ..and they work damn well. Aged for those added oaky and bourbon notes as well… Not to be mistaken though..those that are not worthy should probably leave this one for a more enlightened soul. Those who believe is that gut feeling shouldn’t let this beer pass by as it is a rarity as well…Delicious…fulfilling and complex. Just plain…doesn’t make sense…but its there :P…..Thanks dudes at Stone and Brewdog for this one B-)